Citrus Maple Glazed Carrots

Citrus Maple Glazed Carrots

Candy packed with vitamin A. And also sugar, but they’re vegetables, so I’m sure they’re still good for you. (Ish.)

This side requires a certain amount of time and attention, but it’s worth it. I’ve made it a few times now, and it does get easier each time.

I really like this picture. It illustrates that this recipe is best with young carrots, bought with the tops, and the orange is very pretty. Pity the orange isn’t actually in the recipe.

This is a rewrite of a post I did almost exactly a year ago. Robby had made these killer carrots and I wanted to put them on the blog…except it transpired that he had taken only the barest of inspiration from the original recipe, so the one I put up resembled his version about as much as I resemble Gwyneth Paltrow. That is to say, not much. For instance, the original called for an orange. Whoops.

Citrus Maple Glazed Carrots

This version is actually simpler than the other one. It calls for only four ingredients, and one of those is the butter used to cook off the carrots. You can use any sort for this, but I love the way young whole carrots look. If you try this with those awesome multicolored carrots, please send me a picture.

The other plus to purchasing whole carrots is the tops, which we now know can be turned into a really great pesto. Props to you for using the whole vegetable!

The recipe calls for three different sorts of cooking, but only one pan (always a plus). The carrots are seared for great color and flavor, simmered to candy-sweetness, then broiled to top them with an unbelievable glaze. It takes a little bit of patience to cook down the natural crunch, but it’s so, so worth it.

(I resisted the urge to call these “crack carrots” because that’s how we descend on them when they appear. Not sure what sort of search results you’ll get typing that in.)

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat broiler to low. For a broiler with only one setting, place an oven rack 5-6 inches away from the heat.

Melt butter over medium high heat in a broiler-safe pan. When the butter is beginning to brown, add carrots in a single layer. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning periodically, until carrots are seared on all sides.

Turn heat down to medium. Pour maple syrup and about a quarter cup of soda over the carrots, stirring briefly to coat. Let them sit until the liquid has reduced to a syrup.

Repeat until all the soda is used with only a couple sloshes of liquid left in the pan. Slide the pan under the preheated broiler.

Allow to cook for 5-10 more minutes, or until the carrots are very brown but not burned. There should be a little bit of syrup left in the pan.